Johann van Graan has been in the Munster hot seat for just over three weeks now but already he can start to feel the flames beginning to fan around him.
The South African has walked into a situation where Andrew Conway has been faintly accused of ‘headhunting’ by Leicester coach Matt O’Connor, Ireland internationals Keith Earls, James Cronin, Chris Farrell and Niall Scannell are all sidelined for the forseeable future with respective injuries, while British & Irish Lion Simon Zebo is heading to France next season and he could be joined in the departures lounge at Shannon Airport by club captain Peter O’Mahony and two-time Munster Player of the Year CJ Stander.
Welcome to the world of professional rugby coaching Johan van Graan, you have been tossed out of the frying pan and hoisted into the fire.
However, with that said, since taking over from former Director of Rugby Rassie Erasmus last month, van Graan’s Munster have won three straight games and have outsccored Zebre, the Ospreys and Leicester by a combined score of 105-39.
Munster have been flawless under the former Springboks forwards coach but the biggest issues for the province once again lies away from the pitch and at the door of the clubhouse, but invariably, some problems are bigger than others for the first-year head coach.
The Conway accusation has no validity and aligns with O’Connor’s decorated history of vague accusations, while injuries will heal over time, but losing Zebo, and potentially Stander and O’Mahony, would be gut-wrenching for Munster on a number of different levels.
Firstly, it will be extremely difficult for a club like Munster, in the current financial climate in which they exist, to replace players of Zebo, Stander and O’Mahony’s quality.
Conway may be able to slide into fullback and replace Zebo, while Jack O’Donoghue would be the most logical replacement for Stander, but there really is no immediate substitute for O’Mahony if he leaves.
Secondly, Munster’s most marketable players are all British & Irish Lions.
Zebo, Earls and Conor Murray fronted the province’s Lifestyle Sports #nextiseverything jersey launch earlier this season while Stander and O’Mahony are fan favourites for more obvious reasons.
Why is this important?
According to the 2016/2017 IRFU Annual Report, Munster still owe €9,561,778 to the union for the developmenet of Thomond Park.
Last summer, IRFU Chief Executive Philip Browne said that he could not see Munster being able to make their annual repayments of €500,000 per annum while IRFU honorary treasurer Tom Grace said that one of the main reasons for the club’s financial difficulty was due to ‘poor match results’.
Erasmus, and now van Graan, have done a remarkable job at reversing the province’s on-field fortunes since those comments were made, but Grace’s initial observation still holds some weight, Munster’s fortune, or lack thereof, off the field is still largely tied to their performances on the field.
Therefore by removing Stander, Zebo and O’Mahony from the current playing squad, three of the province’s best, but also their most marketable players, would be entirely self-defeating.
You rob Peter to pay Paul, or whoever ‘Paul’ may be in this instance, possibly an Iain, a Rob or a Rory for argument’s sake, but you don’t rob Peter to watch Peter’s family home fall further into financial disarray.
Even if you can replace the likes of O’Mahony and Stander on the field, what they have done off the pitch will be very hard to replicate.
Images of Stander with his arms around the shoulder of Tony and Dan Foley following the passing of their father Anthony late last year, or footage of the backrower sweeping the Munster dressing room after their 39-16 win over Cardiff earlier this season resonates with supporters.
O’Mahony evoked a similar emotional response last year when he was left visibly shaken by the loss of his friend, coach and mentor Axel.
The loss of one life should never be trumpeted as a marketing tool for others, and while Foley’s passing left an indelible mark on the province, it also inadvertently spoke volumes of the true character of both O’Mahony and Stander.
Whatever wins reveal about the pairs’ abilities as players, the ultimate loss revealed even more about their character as people.
Character is an essential attribute in any dressing room but it’s often nothing more than a footnote in boardrooms where monetary values are ultimately determined.
Stander and O’Mahony deserve to be appropriately remunerated for their services over the last few seasons, but as with any negotiation process, you get what you can negotiate and not necessarily what you deserve.
The mediation process has been left to both players agents but the IRFU have also contributed to the current precidament.
Munster have three players contracted to central contracts this season – Peter O’Mahony, Conor Murray and Keith Earls.
Ulster are understood to have five players: Rory Best, Tommy Bowe, Iain Henderson, Andrew Trimble and Jared Payne.
Leinster have eight players under central IRFU contracts – Cian Healy, Jack McGrath, Devin Toner, Seán O’Brien, Jamie Heaslip, Johnny Sexton, Robbie Henshaw and Rob Kearney – with an accumulated salary believed to be in the €3 million range.
Munster borrowed €11.7 million from the IRFU for the 2008 redevelopment of Thomond Park and nine years later and they still owe over €9.56 million.
The writing on the wall has been clear to see for sometime which makes the central contract imbalance that much more puzzling.
Are Cian Healy, Rob Kearney and Devin Toner worth more to the IRFU at Leinster given the three-time European champions outstanding depth? Or are CJ Stander and Simon Zebo not more deserving of central contracts given Munster’s precarious financial position?
Rob Kearney, Tommy Bowe, Jared Payne, Iain Henderson, Tadhg Furlong, Andrew Conway and Rory Best are all out of contract during the summer and the union may be able to free up enough cash to keep both Stander and O’Mahony if they allow some of the aforementioned to walk.
Doling out central contracts is very much a dice roll for the IRFU, and the odds can be dramatically influenced by external factors such as injury and competition from clubs overseas, but with Munster already having more chips on the table than any of the other players at the table, maybe the dealer throws them a bone to keep them in the game.
